The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1887-11-18

I..stess. and there stood the man will
all four of them grouped in front O
/, him and laughing noisily at every
word he said. Buck coming i'm, Op
portunely took me up FROM my Sc
gues.ered nook. and we all went out to
supper. passing the court and the ban
and their foreign clientele in the entry
just outside the east-room door.
Even al supper he boldly disregarded
the severe proprieties of village life
which separated, in those days, the
men from the women i'm all public
places. even in the dining-ruom of an
old-fashioned tavern. On the right oi
the head OF the table lie marshalled the
four laughing girls. and then seated
them first, and then seated himself
with her on his right hand, two of the
others being on his left. Then / went
through that meal listening to his
funny sayings and the giggling of tbs
four girls in such an abstraction CT
angry resentment that / failed to catch
two words of what Buck was eagerly
telling me about the wonderful 'oif
hosst'' of that wonderful bay team.
One incident OF the supper, however,
pleased me noticeably at the time; and
even more when in the retrospection
of my first preparation for a boys deep
sleep l went over it all in bed.
Bogus Leatherwood, walking ponder
ously along from the kitchen door and
upon our side of the table, looked
steadily at the laughing group of girls
on the other side of the table until he
was directly back of my chair, then
pausing for an instant, he evidently fixed
the eyes of his wife, although / couldn't
see him. and therefore could Judge only
by the fact that the obedicnt and OBJ
servant Mrs. Leatherwcod dropped her
knife and fork and looked up as the
heavy growl of old Bogus Leatherwood
ovcrcame all other sounds.
"Marthyr- always paused for at
least five seconds after this warning
eNclamation-which pause Mrs. Leatli-
erwood filled up with visible quallings
and shrinkings. ''Theys too blame
much noise go-un ON h-yur, lemmy
tell yuh!'
And then. with the heavy breathing
of Il fat man in anger, that added as
much force to the objurgation as could
have been given by any additional
words, he walked heavily, but strongly,
and with a certain surprising alertncss
in his movements, considering how
very fat he was, out of the room in a
sudden and progressive diminuendo of
the usual roar of the supper-room.
Mrs. Leatherwood had east fright
ened, warning and appealing look at
her daughter; and Polly Ann had
turned her face significantly in the de
rection OF her mothers chair. looking
over the neatly-sloping shoulder of
Mr.. Martin, in order to the exchange
of warning and meaning glanees.
by gum!" the ole mans mad
bout some-h'n urruther!' Buck
whispered To me rs soon as the door
closed on the retiring figure of the
huge landlord. Hell be back h-yur
en- about two minutes. You watch
mother I'M Sis, un see how they git
ont h-yur uthout stoppun to swaller
thur coffee, will yuh!''
In fact, Mrs. Leatherwood was al
ready upon her feet and bending her
brown eyes upon her daughters face
with the very slightest jerk of her head
backward and to the left, making the
whites of her large eyes CLEAN in mo-
enlargement, as if the eyes
rolled toward their corners. although
it was the head that turned in signifi-
cant jerk while the eyes themselves re-
manned riveted upon their objective
so until the daughter
arose somewhat precipitately from her
seat next the agreeable MIR. Martin.
and without word to anybody, but
with furtive glance toward me. !
thought. followed her mother out of
the room.
Listening, heard the sound of their
feet in the narrow box-stairway that
led to the two rooms occupied habit
ually by mother and daughter, and at
night by the whole Leatherwood fam
ily-that is, when Buck did not sleep
with me at my fathers, and when 1 did
not sleep with him in one of the rooms
over the kitchen, which taken alto
eether was nearly all the nights in the
year.
Afterwards / remembered to have
passed an indefinite time in staring at
Buck as he deliberately cut up in rath-
,r large bits the chunk of boiled ham
hat he seemed to be making his dessert
IF, whilst i'm fact only saw him GEN